A Story of Woe
by DorestadGirl
Summary: In the last moments of his life Draco remembers a more happy time with Ginny at Hogwarts when she told him a romantic muggle story.


_He had once heard that when you died your whole life flashes before you one last time, but as the green light sped towards him he really hoped that wasn't true. _

_He didn't want to remember most of his life. He had to thank his father for the cold and bitter memories of his early years, but the rest of his life he had screwed up on his own pretty thoroughly as well. It'd be torture if he had to relive al those parts of his life. There were only al couple of moments he'd like to recall and they all revolved around her. _

_Relief hit him when, indeed, his minds eye conjured the gleam of her red hair and her sparkling amber eyes. However, it wasn't one of the memories he'd expected to see, He'd expected something like the first time he saw her -really saw her- when she was flying at a quidditch practice or the first time they had kissed in a couple of stolen minutes during the Yule ball. He thanked Merlin it wasn't one of the memories about her that he feared to revisit. He couldn't imaging having to relive the horrible fight they'd had, their last moments together or the last time he laid eyes on her. _

_He was surprised but grateful for the memory that visited him, even though it probably was one of no specific importance to him. It was when they had thought, in their innocence and arrogance, that they could actually have a future together. When they had still believed they could change their world. _

-oOo_-  
><em>

She was sitting at one of the larger windows in the library in a large comfortable chair, the light of the rising sun was shining on her hair and it sparkled like gold. She had her back turned to him and her nose deeply buried in the book he had given her. He was sure she couldn't have heard him enter, but just when he wanted to put his hand on her shoulder, to scare her and lecture her never to let her guard down, she looked up and a smile spread across her face. 'Draco!' she sighed. It was the most beautiful sound he had even heard.

She closed the book but kept her finger between the pages as he pulled her on her feet and embraced her. 'Oh kitten,' he murmured in her ear. 'I'm sorry I'm late.'

She ran her fingers through his hair and pressed the book in his back, pulling him closer. 'Me too.' she whispered. 'But it doesn't matter anymore, you're here now.'

She turned her head to him and tilted it slightly backwards so she could gaze into his eyes and he could see the love and warmth in her gaze.

He bent over and pressed his lips against hers. She was so soft and breakable in his arms and she smelled so sweet! Her scent was a little flowery, but not overwhelmingly so. She smelled of love, comfort and joy.

She parted her lips and tenderly he explored her with his tongue, deepening the kiss. She wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him closer to her still.

When they finally stepped a feet away from each other, both gasping for air with reddened lips and tousled hair, if felt like the kiss had lasted for several hours but the sun had risen only a inch above the forbidden forest.

The comfy chair she had been sitting in when he'd arrived had proven to be big enough to contain them both on a previous occasion, though they really had to squeeze themselves in. He sat down first and she settled herself in his arms. While he was content to be close to her and play with her hair, after a while she reopened her book and continued reading.

With amazing speed her eyes flew past the pages and he loved the little smile that sometimes curved the corners of her mouth.

'Do you enjoy it?' he asked and she merely nodded.

'There're pictures in it as well,' he added, 'have you seen them?'

'Hmm.' she replied.

'I love you.' he said.

Distracted she raised her head. 'Huh? What?'

He smiled, glad he had her attention again, one day he would tell her for real, now it would probably just scare her off. 'I said: What's the book about?' he said.

She slightly narrowed her eyes. 'You mean you don't know what you bought me?'

'That's what I'm saying.'

'Well, then why did you buy it?'

'A couple of reasons.' He counted them on his fingers. 'One, the book salesmen said it is one of the muggle classics and very romantic. I happen to have remembered you had once told me you liked the romantic muggle novels. Two, it was the most expensive book they sold in the little shop and you know I like to spend money on you whenever you let me. Three…' He paused, three fingers raised in the air before him, trying to think of a third reason. 'Well, it has got some lovely pictures in it. It is pure gold they've used in the illustrations, had I mentioned?'

She laughed out loud. 'Only a couple of times.'

'So...' he said while he trailed her collarbone with his index finger, 'what's it about? Did you already know the story?'

'Well, yes. I did.'

He felt his face fall and she hastily added: 'But I hadn't read the original version yet. It's just that it's very popular and there're a lot of references to it in other literature and so I had read a summary once. It's a beautiful story, romantic but very tragic.'

'Pray, do tell.' Sarcasm was dripping of his velvet voice.

She laughed. 'It's actually something I think you'd be able to relate to. The Story is about a boy and a girl who belong two rivaling families but who fall madly in love with each other regardless.'

He smiled and kissed her earlobe. 'That does sound familiar.' he murmured. 'Is the guy a tall handsome blonde?'

She smiled and shook her head. 'He's a brunette I think.'

'How does it end?' he asked, merely to keep her talking because he wanted to listen to the sound of her voice.

He heard her hesitate before she answered him. 'I don't really remember the details, but I believe they both die.'

'They get killed?'

'No.' she said with a small voice. 'They commit suicide.'

'Why?' he demanded.

'Each thinks the other is dead and they cannot live without each other.'

'And so they decide to kill themselves.' He snorted. 'That's just stupid! How can such a ridiculous story be famous muggle literature?' He saw her face fall and her shoulders drop. 'What?' he said briskly. 'I can't smut the book I've bought myself?'

She hesitated. 'I just don't like it when you talk ill of something I like. You know that, we've talked about it before.'

'And I've stopped calling them Scarhead and Mudblood as you might have noticed!' He felt his anger building up inside of him. He knew his eyes must becoming more and more like ice and he desperately tried to calm himself. Deep down he knew it was just his defense mechanism, trying to deal with the fact that he had disappointed her.

'Then explain it to me, love.' he said, trying to warm his voice so it wouldn't resemble his fathers. 'How could they possibly be driven to the decision to kill themselves?'

She bit the inside of her lip and he was afraid that she wouldn't let him come away with his little outburst so easily. But then she smiled at him and began to tell the story. She was a good storyteller and he was amused to find that he was actually listening.

'Romeo and Juliet had belonged to two rivaling families, both families having only one child. Without knowing each others' real names they met at a party and fell in love. They were so deeply in love that when they found out whom the other one really was they couldn't stop loving each other. The next day they agreed to get married.

Just after they had just been secretly wed, Romeo ends up in a fight between the two families, where his best friend was killed by Juliet's cousin. In a rage he killed the cousin in return.

Because he had killed a man, Romeo was exiled from the city. They spent one last night together and he left. Juliet was distraught; to cheer her up her parents decided to find her a husband. She consented to the marriage to save her name and her family's, but the night before the wedding she drank a potion that rendered her lifeless. She was faking death, so she could be with Romeo, whom she had sent a messenger.

The messenger was delayed and Romeo, thinking her truly deceased, bought a potion of his own and traveled to her tomb. With a last glance at the love of his life he drank the potion and died.

Juliet waked up from her slumber, but when she found his body at her feet she grabbed his knife and plunged it into her heart.'

He was silent when she had stopped the tale, even though he had interrupted her a couple of times while she was still talking. Demanding to know how Romeo could have been so stupid to kill her cousin and why the hell didn't they just leave town together? Why did she have to set her own death in scene? To which she had replied that he, of all people, ought to be able to recognize the ties her family had over her.

There had been a lot more he'd wanted to comment on, but now she had finished he just sat there, thinking. There was something in the tale that bothered him beyond words, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

When he realized what was nagging him, it was as if a cold brace had been closed around his chest, his heart made a little flutter and for a second he couldn't breathe. He was glad she was leaning with her back against him and that she wasn't able to see his face, which, he knew, was white as a sheet. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breading for a moment to steady himself, he couldn't allow her to see how upset the idea had made him.

She started to shift and twisted her spine to be able to look at him, she offered him a smile. He threw his arm around her, drew her closer and kissed her on her forehead. 'Please.' he begged her. 'Please get this ridiculous story out of your head. Promise me you'll be smart. Please promise me you wouldn't throw your life away like that.'

Immediately she had understood that he wasn't joking. She pushed him back, turned all the way to him and lifted his head with her to look him in the eyes, which he was afraid to do so. 'Draco, my love.' she said, carefully pronouncing each word. 'I promise you I would never be that stupid.' She leant in and kissed him on the lips.

Slowly he felt the tightness in his chest lessen, she had sounded so truthful and sincere that he could feel his worry and fear for her safety melt away. Merlin knows it would've been just like her to bring herself in danger without thinking twice. At least she wouldn't act the stupid and headstrong Gryffindor if something would ever happen to him.

Their conversation had come dangerously close to the thing they, as an unspoken rule, never talked about. What would happen when they left Hogwarts for the summer holidays?

But they didn't feel like discussing it now and they pushed away their worries with cuddling and kissing, enjoying the time they had together. The beautifully illustrated book fell from her hand to the ground but they were oblivious to the sound. They never talked about her promise again.

-oOo-

_The image left him slowly and he vaguely wondered about the time, which seemed to move so slowly, it might as well go backwards. But it didn't really matter, the green light was coming; his time was up. There was nothing left for him here. _

_Funny that she had never demanded he'd promise her the same thing. He guessed they'd both assumed that he was likely to be the first to go and if he'd had any say in it, that would've been exactly how he would've plotted it. He would gladly have missed this pain, this deep and dark thing that he carried on his shoulders, afraid to look at it, for it would surely devour him when he did so. _

_But then again, he wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy, especially not on her. _

_Maybe it's better this way he thought to himself. He was glad she never had to go through what he'd been through the last couple of weeks, or had it merely been hours since …? _

_A second image threatened to overtake his vision. _

-oOo-_  
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She was lying on the floor and she could have been sleeping, curved up in al ball, arms wrapped around her chest and her long red hair spread around her like a fan, but for the expression on her face. Her hair wasn't the only red in the small chamber, there was another red, a dark, thick, glistening red that covered her hands, face and clothes and mingled with her beautiful hair. It was even on the walls.

He'd fallen to the ground, his knees drenched in the wicked stuff and he had crawled to her, nearly losing his balance even though he was on all fours on the slippery floor. When he had finally reached her he had pressed her small body to his chest and…

-oOo-

_Slowly he shook his head, trying to shake the memory away. This wasn't how he wanted to remember her, this wasn't her. _

_He opened his eyes again. He didn't remember closing them, but then again, he didn't recall having fallen to his knees either. It wouldn't make a difference. _

_He didn't see the tall stone walls surrounding him or the white faces grinning at him. All he could see now was the green light, which had finally reached him. _

_At the moment the light enclosed him, he could almost hear her laughter, feel the softness of her skin and see the light dance on her hair. It had ended and he realized the pain wouldn't matter when he thought of her name. At least she would be waiting for him on the other side. _

_His last breath came out in a whisper: 'Ginny.'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I've written this story a couple of months ago in response to a writing challenge on the DG forum. The challenge was perfect to me since I was already toying with this plot but needed just that little push to actually start writing it.

**Prompt/theme:** A touch of Shakespeare

**Challenge:** Must include some aspect of Shakespearean literature: whether a plot line, a quote, or theme, etc. I don't mean to rewrite a play by simply substituting characters; think Kerichi's A Tale of Two Matchmakers, except not so epic in scope. ;)

**Word Count:** A decent length one-shot, so about 2,500 words, max.

**Deadline:** No deadline.


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